The story of a dad. Part one.

There are people who have incredible lives. They are in constant motion. They get on all the popular lists. They get the good committee assignments. They speak at the big conferences. They are the authors and the travelers.

And then there are the normal people.

Those of you who have kids know what it’s like to have company with your kids around. Sometimes that’s scary. Sometimes, it’s okay. This one guy had four daughters. They all were pretty spiritual, not in a fake way, but in a way that was pretty distinctive, pretty notable. They may have refrained from marriage, these girls, so they could serve God.

What’s significant is that being their father was one way of identifying the guy. In fact, the storyteller who was talking about this guy made mention of the daughters. It’s funny, I think, since in the writings of this guy, kids weren’t always mentioned. In fact, as I think about it, they didn’t show up much at all, except as trouble or as key parts of the story. So if they are mentioned, it matters.

What I picture is a house full of travelers, a notable church leader who shows up for a couple weeks. He’s there, the four girls are helping their mother, helping with the hospitality, being significant for the company. And dad is sitting in a corner watching.

Oh, i’m pretty sure he helped out, but I’m guessing that he was pretty quiet. The leader has spent the last few years being the center of attention. Everyone knows him. Everyone has an opinion about him. Some people really like him. Others are really aggravated.

But our friend is uncertain. See, it is possible that the last time he saw this church leader was when the leader was trying to kill him.

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About Jon Swanson

Social media chaplain. Author of "Lent For Non-Lent People" and "A Great Work: A Conversation With Nehemiah For People (Who Want To Be) Doing Great Works." Writer of 300wordsaday.com. I help people understand. Understand some of the Bible. Understand what Lent can be about. Understand what it means to follow.
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3 thoughts on “The story of a dad. Part one.”

I see why Jesus told parables, and some prophets told stories. My ears are listening in a new way, because I’m hooked on this and wondering who it is. Wondering in a really open minded way about the story, re-reading it, looking for what I missed, because everything’s a clue, and I want to figure it out. I guess I’ll stay tuned! And maybe learn something about myself, not just the Dad in the story.